New Delhi: Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy, is on a five-day visit to India from April 2nd to 6th. This visit aims to strengthen India-Australia's maritime ties and explore avenues for further cooperation.
During his visit, Vice Admiral Hammond met with Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff of the Indian Navy. Their discussions centered on ways to enhance bilateral maritime cooperation through increased operational engagements, training exchanges, and information sharing.
The Australian Navy Chief also met with General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff. Their talks focused on broader defense cooperation, including strengthening mutual trust, fostering closer ties between the two nations, and exploring possibilities for collaboration in niche technologies and the defense industry.
Vice Admiral Hammond's itinerary includes visits to the Southern Naval Command in Kochi and the Western Naval Command in Mumbai, where he will interact with respective commanders. Notably, he will also tour India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, along with key defense establishments like the Integrated Simulator Complex Naval Dockyard in Mumbai and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
The visit comes after the Royal Australian Ship HMAS Warramunga's participation in the multinational exercise MILAN 2024 held in Visakhapatnam last month. This high-level engagement signifies the strong and longstanding relationship between the Indian and Australian navies, both of which share similar perspectives on maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. Their collaboration extends to participation in various bilateral and multilateral forums like the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and the Western Pacific Naval Symposium.
